Peonies

An impromptu, solo trip to the Farmer's Market on Saturday was just what my soul needed.

I bought the most lovely peonies - two bunches of tightly wrapped white buds ...

Via

... that opened a couple of hours after I got them home.

They smell heavenly.

Liam's Baptism

Liam is our youngest, and when he turned four we went to BK to celebrate. As we sat there eating in that corner booth, I watched my family. I thought to myself, I don't have babies anymore. I don't have toddlers. I have children. And I began to think about how fast it had all gone by and how hard it was, and how I really didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. Those days were gone and I was never going to get them back.

Liam at 11 months

And then I burst into tears. Seriously, I was sobbing and I could. not. stop. I cried my eyes out right there in the middle of Burger King.
(I wish I was one of those people who look pretty when they cry. Unfortunately, I have an ugly cry face.)

Liam at 8 1/2

Well, we recently had another milestone with Liam's baptism. In the LDS Church, eight is considered the age of accountability, the point at which a child can understand the decision he is making. Liam actually turned eight in October of last year, but we wanted to wait until my parents were here at Christmas. But then Quinn's parents were sick and unable to come, and it kept getting put off because there never seemed to be a weekend that worked. Finally we were able to line everything up and last weekend, Liam was finally baptized.

He was thrilled. It was the perfect day. So many people came and we were touched by the love and support that was shown him.

He was baptized and confirmed by his Dad. Grandma and Grandpa Martin both spoke. His friends Alex and Mikey gave the opening and closing prayers. The Bishop welcomed him to the ward.

Liam's little buddy Finn and his mom gave him the most beautiful gift. To commemorate his baptism, they gave him a tree to plant so that he can watch it grow to be big and strong. The card said that they know his faith will stay strong like this mighty Redwood.


Liam and his tree are the same height now, but over the next ten years it is supposed to grow to between 70 and 100 feet tall! We will have to pick somewhere special to put it.

We are so proud of Liam. He was so ready to do this. He knows that he has taken a very important step in his life and that he has made sacred covenants with his Heavenly Father. He was so excited to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. He loved how he felt when he was baptized and said he wished that he could feel like that every day.

Saturday Fun

Now here's something you don't see in our neighbourhood every day...

Emily's friend rode her horse through the farmland and park behind our house to visit today. Liam and I took a little ride around and Mater helped us out by eating some of our grass. A good thing, since our lawnmower blew up last week.

I love where we live.

Subway Blind

I love how graphic and punchy old subway and tram blinds are. The white lettering on black really pops. But I didn't fancy spending $300 on one. And I didn't want a random list of places I'd never been before.

Sarah at A Beach Cottage has a beautiful tram blind in her living room.

My friend Becky is a graphic artist at Stick People Press - she replicated the style with my list of places. I had it printed on canvas at Proper Design in Vancouver, and stretched and framed by another art shop.

I love how it turned out, and that there is a story and memories behind each name.

TOFW - Friday Night Recap

I could seriously be like the Deadheads who followed the Grateful Dead around the US in the 70s and 80s - except that instead of going to see Jerry Garcia, I would be going to TOFW to see Hilary Weeks and S. Michael Wilcox.

Shopping and fun with the girls aside, the main reason I go is to immerse myself in the Spirit that I know will be there. I come back from TOFW feeling like I could take on anything. I am uplifted, inspired and most of all, I am reminded that I am not alone on this journey. My Heavenly Father and my Saviour want so much for me to succeed, and there are 2500 other women in the room with similar struggles and experiences – knowing that strengthens me.

The theme for this year was “Seek the Good.” John Bytheway opened on Friday night with a really great talk on being careful about what we surround ourselves with. He called it the ‘Parable of the Marinade’ – and he said that we are all marinating in something. Regardless of our original intention, you will eventually become with you surround yourself with.

Brad Wilcox spoke next on knowing the names of Christ. My favourites were: ‘I am’ - He can declare I am, I am real, I exist, I am the way, the truth, the life; ‘The King of Kings’ says a lot about Christ but it also says a great deal about us too; He is the ‘Finisher of Our Faith’ – He is not finished with us yet! When you don’t feel like a Queen, remember that he is not done with you yet. I really loved his talk.

I had seen the Mormon Message about Chris Williams’ story and was so touched. He spoke on dealing with adversity and avoiding the path of self pity. The Saviour can teach us how He would respond and we can find hope in any situation. Confront misery with mercy and kindness, and just let it go. He finished with an a cappella rendition of my absolute favourite hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”

If you haven’t seen Chris Williams' story, watch it here:

Spokane WA

I went away on a road trip to Time Out for Women in Spokane, WA with my friend Karie and our daughters, Emily and Camille. The girls went to Time Out For Girls while we were at our conference. 

It was such a fun trip, with shopping and fun times with our girls ... and a LOT of driving. We made it there just in time for opening prayer!

We stayed at a cute boutique hotel called the Montvale. It had a restaurant called The Scout off the lobby that we ate all our meals at. Convenient, inexpensive and tasty.

This was Em's meal - a grilled cheese sandwich served in a vintage Flintstones lunchbox. So cute!

Being away from home, I took things a little too far. There were cookies in our hotel just outside our room every night! And I ate some. Okay, I ate four. In one day. And a chocolate truffle bar. And it was all good.

More pics and a recap of TOFW to follow.

Good Friday

I had such a great day today. The kids spent most of the day jumping on the trampoline when they weren't helping us clean up. Quinn was home after a long run of work, I went to yoga in the morning, did some cleaning around the house and finally put up some artwork downstairs. What a difference! I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to get around to deciding what to hang and where.

It was a beautiful sunny day – a perfect day to reflect on the sacrifice of our Savior and the promise of resurrection and eternal life. Easter is my favorite holiday and this year we hosted a family dinner for eleven on Good Friday. I cooked a big turkey and all the fixings and it was delicious. But the best part was spending time with people we love and don’t get to see often enough.

Happy Easter!

 Martha Stewart